Is soul drain the best combat spell in the game?
 

SOMEHOW I never saw this spell before......wow. Nothing like harming half the enemies on the field, simultaneously, while allowing you to cast your most powerfull spells.... every turn.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the game?
 

I think Wrathfull Skies is better because it is so ridiculously easy to cast in the unmodded game and it can be boosted with ease.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the game?
 

Cast wrathfull skies and unless you have a VERY high magic... no more spells.

Cast soul drain...then wrathfull skies... then more spells http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the game?
 

Gems, reinvigorating items. Never forget Staf of Storms.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the game?
 

No amount of reinvigoration items can get you from 300 fatigue to 0 in 1 turn.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

It's only 300 fatigue for an Air 3 mage; it's 150 fatigue at Air 4, 100 fatigue at Air 5, 75 fatigue at Air 6... You can get Summon Storm Power for a cheap +1, and add extra gems to lower the fatigue amount: Storm Power+two extra gems result in a level 3 mage being able to cast the spell with only 75 fatigue. On an aside, fatigue is capped at 200, so you can cast a 700 fatigue spell without doing anything special.

Relief is another great spell for fatigue, as it removes the fatigue of *all* your troops on the battlefield. If memory serves, Relief is at level 7 of research, and requires Nature 3... probably in the Enchantment school.

*Squashes the Figure Fairy out of this post*

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Relief only requires nature 3, unless you're talking about a mod.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Indeed it does, and no mod makes Relief a level 7 spell; I got confused with the 7 for research level I think, and typoed.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

I thought the battlefield AI won't cast a spell if it took your fatigue over 200...it'll cast something else instead. So you almost have to have extra levels/gems/commununion/etc. for high fatigue spells

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Stop thinking. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/wink.gif I thought like you did, but Illwinter said fatigue was capped at 200, and upon checking it turns out they are right. Pick an Earth 7 mage and try to cast Army of Leaf, and it should work just fine, even though fatigue should hit the ceiling here.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Army of Leaf http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

.....how do you use EXTRA germs in combat to improve spells?

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

If a commander carries gems his aproriate magic skills will increase in battle. Even one gem will do but it's only +1 no matter the amount of gems. They can be also used to cure fatigue AFAIK.

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Yes, Army of Leaf. I am eco friendly you know, and backed by Pangaea. My favourite temperature is Cold 1, and it's currently 32 C in my room, so I blame any and all typos on the heat.

Slen: glad you like typos just as much as I do (you go to the jeweller to buy germs, while I use leaves to forge something). The AI will automatically use extra gems, if some are to be found, depending on the situation: the AI will especially use some to cast very tiring spells and/or against "powerful" foes.

The first extra gem can be used as a +1 magic boost for that spell online, and all other gems are used to reduce fatigue (as though the spell was cast by a mage of a higher level). Note, however, that gem usage cannot go higher than the real level of the mage, and that includes the non-extra gems.

So, we have an Earth 8 mage wanting to cast Army of Gold, a 600 fatigue spell (it therefore requires 6 gems). The mage casts Summon Earthpower, bringing him to Earth 9, and then casts Army of Gold by using 9 gems. 6 of those are used to cast the spell, and the 3 others are used to improve the spell. For this spell, our mage is effectively Earth 10, and will have the same fatigue as a level 12 mage casting this spell (100 fatigue, if I am not mistaken).

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

Why is Fatigue capped at 200 ??

Re: Is soul drain the best combat spell in the gam
 

If fatique raises above 200, it gives damage. The big spells would be uncastable by mages that meet the power requirement, as they would need to have lots of extra gems and be able to use them (only [magic level] gems can be used per turn, so with spells needing lots of gems it might be impossible to use extra gems with the minimum required level). I don't know if this is good thing or bad thing, or even if this is the reason, but I think it is.